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Drivers blockade Telford garage over car clamping fees
Friday 18th June 2010, 3:03PM BST.
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Martin Williams, 35, from Oakengates, said he organised the protest at 5pm yesterday after forking out £300 to get his car back this week.
The father-of-two left it there awaiting a recovery pick-up after it broke down, claiming staff at the service station told him it would be alright.
He said it was about time the new government took action to regulate car clampers and put a limit on what they could charge.
“It’s not just about the fact I have been stung – this protest is to strike a blow for everyone who has suffered at the hands of clampers anywhere,” he said.
Fortune
“People simply cannot afford to pay the kind of money these kind of companies are asking, but at the same time they cannot afford to be without their cars either. They have to pay – and these people know that. They must be making a fortune.”
The protesters had hoped to persuade Mr Evans to end the clamping policy – but the service station boss remained defiant today.
After calling police to get them removed from the forecourt, Mr Evans said: “I think fines should go up, this kind of thing shows people are not responsible.
“I have got the right to remove any vehicle that’s causing an obstruction.”
One of the protesters, Lewis Jay, 19, from Trench, said he had to fork out £200 after he was clamped at the garage.
“I was given a fixed penalty notice five minutes after I got here,” he said.
Jan Wood, spokeswoman for Simplex Parking Services, said fees charged by the company were the maximum allowed by the British Parking Association.
Telford police spokesman Chris Ammonds said officers were called following fears from station staff the protest could get out of hand.
But he added: “It was a very peaceful protest, we spoke amicably with the drivers there and by 5.30pm the petrol forecourt had been cleared.”
By Jason Lavan and Wayne Beese
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More information needed, but on the face of it these people have been clamped for a reason – parking on private land when you’re not entitled to is usually a good enough one.
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Why is it that people find it so difficult to park legally? I have had a number of parking tickets over the years and I deserved every single one of them!!!
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he asked permission to park the car there as it had broken down and when he got back his car was clamped.
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What, all of them..
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as it’s a service station were the clamped car owners not using the services, if not it’s their own fault for illegal parking.
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you very rarely get clamped for no good reason,how could you be clamped in a petrol station unless you done wrong,dont tell us it happened well you were paying for fuel etc nonsense & you all know it & you have to much time on your hands if you got time to block a petrol station do you not work??i havent got time to block petrol stations thats for sure & i doubt youre very popular with hard working people needing to fill up to get on with there everyday business,…………
why not protest about something that could benefit people i;e fuel prices etc (without blocking pumps etc) or british soldiers in war zones,not nonsense that you’ve only brought onto yourselfs………..
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Possibly parking there and attending the car auctions over the road… if so, serves them right! If you are not using the garage forecourt to either obtain petrol/carwash or buy from the shop you deserved to get clamped! I for one am sick of trying to get onto the forecourt or get past the numerous casually abandoned cars around the roundabout and finding it impossible to get through, no doubt many others are too.
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“Casually abandoned cars around the roundabout”?
I call BS on that, chief.
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Thats ma aunty…lol with all her flags…and its great to hear she supporting the winning team …new zealand lol…… we made history this week when we scored our first ever point at the world cup…loving it!!!
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easy one squire———-b dy lasiness
i see them in my town doing owt to avoid
30-40—yes–30-40-p per hour and they think there hard done by
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Most of the people parking here like myself who got caught were trying to collect children from nearby Roaries.
Roaries had inadequate parking making it impossible to park to collect their children from parties.
They sit and wait for you to leave the car.
The choice is leave the kids along or get a ticket.
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all you need to do infuture is to boycot the garage the less people that go there the more they might think about not clamping
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I use this garage all the time, you are not clamped unless you are using their car park but not their services. Why should I struggle to get parked to go into the garage for a sandwich because someone’s else’s 4×4 is picking kids up from across the way?
It’s Roaries problem, not the garage’s, don’t want to get clamped, park on Roaries
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Vote with your wheels! Don’t use this filling station if you disagree with the conditions.
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Thats the point.. they weren’t using the petrol station.
If Roaries aren’t prepared to provide enough parking then its them that should be boycotted
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I’d love to see how a bunch of these all protesting about not being allowed to park on private land without permission would like it if a load of drivers parked their cars in their driveways and buggered off for hours on end blocking them in so they couldn’t go to work etc…
Not so funny when the boot is on the other foot no doubt!
Chris – Although I don’t use the garage myself…your staff are downright rude at times and the waiting times to be served are horrendous I DO think that land owned by legally IS yours to do with as you see fit.
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Of course, a business has to be very careful who they decide to use to operate clamping. Membership of the BPA would be a minimum.
Incidentally, I have never found the staff in the shop rude. They have always been friendly and eager to help. Even when selling batteries for a smoke alarm that decided to start playing up at 3am!!
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The majority of staff are polite but there are a few who are rude and ignorant. I do my best to use somewhere else for fuel and fags!
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Don’t use his petrol station, because clamping cars and charging £300 for removal is a rip off.
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